Our only complaint about the product related to the fact that one of our two cats isn’t always conscientious of ensuring that everything that’s supposed to end up inside the door to the globe actually does.

So we were pleased to find out recently that Automated Pet Care Products now offers a few accessories that solve our problems. They sent us an upgraded unit for review, and here are our thoughts.

The first accessory is a relatively inexpensive lip extender that catches any “misses” and helps redirect them back into the globe. It snaps into place over the existing lip and extends the catch to a total of three-and-a-half inches.

The second is a new “Bubble Unit” globe that creates a skylight in the back. It also adds a few more inches of space for larger cats like our Charlie (who is now on “the light food” to help her slim down a bit). This upgrade is a complete replacement globe and it also includes a lip extender.

We know the idea of a litter box costing over $300 might seem outrageous to some, but we’re convinced the efficiency of the internal sifting mechanism causes us to buy less than half as much litter as we previously needed, so we figure the device is actually likely to recoup it’s own cost over the long run. And you can feel good about the fact that your cat always has a clean and uncluttered box.

You don’t need to take our word for it though. Cat owner’s who have Litter Robots are fanatical about them, so just look at the Amazon reviews to get an idea of how great these things are.

I am crazy about my 2 Litter Robots. They were my last attempt at an automatic litter box after many others had been disasters. The new accessory will be great, as one of my cats is an “enthusiastic” digger. (Sand flies everywhere!) They are a bit pricey, but I’ve had mine for several years, and they’re still going strong. Well worth the investment.

Ugh. My roommate bought one of these (our cat is a 4-cat household; 2 mine, 2 his), and I hated it. First off, it always smelled AWFUL. And it was NASTY to clean — the rotating cylinder would just get covered in caked-on poo.

Its motor eventually broke (I think he’d had it for 2-3 years), so now it’s taking up space in a closet and we’re back to the old-fashioned method. (Which honestly guys, I know scooping the box isn’t a great chore, but it doesn’t take THAT long!)

Another unintended side-effect is that it seems to have taught one of his cats to be prissy about the litterbox, so this cat will now go in the bathroom sink if the box isn’t clean enough for his taste.

Also, it’s HUGE, much more obtrusive than a normal litter box. It’s noisy. And of course it always has to be plugged in.

Worse, it can’t be used with higher-quality, more environmentally sound litter I like to use (which has the added side-effect that we use less of it because it clumps better and doesn’t smell so bad so quickly).

Double, triple and quadruple YUCK. Great if it works for you, but I file this under “gross, overpriced unitasker.”

BUT…how do you clean it? I’m sorry, but no matter how many clumps drop down into the bin below, the “clean” litter that’s sifted through the grate is still dirty. It is near-impossible to clean inside the globe where the “clean” litter is sifted to. And after a year or so, it needs a good scrubbing!

If they had a model that hinged open to give you good access to clean the interior of the unit, I would be a life-long fan because this thing works! In the meantime, I’m doing without the motor and using one of these.

I sooooo miss our Litter Robot. We had an LR1 for years and I loved it. At first I thought the price was exorbitant, but the more I thought about it the better it seemed. In addition so purchasing less litter, we also found we did not need to kennel the cats as often when we took out of town trips. We had kenneled the 2 cats before for a 5-day weekend getaway and it ran us $280! So the Litter Robot essentially paid for itself the very first time we went out of town and didn’t need to kennel the critters.

The little notches that the gear wheel fits into eventually started to crack (after about 4 years) and litter was pouring into the catcher every time it cycled. Unfortunately, Scoob purchased a new automatic litterbox without consulting me. He thought the $120 price tage would mean we would save money, but it uses a more expensive crystal type litter that needs to be completely changed out and replaced every 12 – 14 days, and it’s not as reliable. I’m not confident that we can leave the box for a few days and have it do its job. So we may need to start kenneling again. But this is what we have now.

I wait patiently for it to break. It would be such a shame if something were to accidentally (*cough*) happen to iy. 🙂

I can solve all the same problems that this gadget solves with a litter box, six pieces of newspaper, a broom, a dustpan, and a regular maintenance schedule. I keep newspaper under and around the litter box. I sweep up every time I use the bathroom (the box sits in the back corner, between the toilet and the wall, and the bathroom floor itself measures only about 1 x 2 meters). I remove solid waste whenever I encounter it, and I change the litter and newspaper and disinfect the box about every 5 days.

Litter changing is a 10-minute task that I wouldn’t exchange $300 for. Back-of-the-envelope math: if the Litter Robot is guaranteed for 18 months, and I’d change the litter by hand about 100 times in 18 months, I still don’t see the value in “paying” the gadget to do the work for me, when I’d still need to thoroughly clean the box under the Litter Robot on a regular basis anyway. It looks to me that I save $3 per litter change, minus the cost of a few squirts of cleaning solution, if I don’t buy the Litter Robot. (For Tightwad Gazette fans: that’s an “hourly wage” of $180.) I honestly don’t see how spending this amount of money for a motorized gadget would unclutter my life.

I hesitated to hit “submit comment” because I know this site is about uncluttering, not about frugal living. But I think the two concepts can and should be related, and I think that for a lot of people — not just me — this gadget would not help a household reach its goal to unclutter their life.

I regularly clean my cat’s box and that system works okay. I’d be afraid one of my cats would be very scared of this thing, actually.

One big concern, pertinent to unclutterer- is the fact that this litter robot is HUGE and rather ugly, how to deal with this in a small apartment? I live in Seattle and have very limited space, we actually constructed a small cabinet with the litterbox inside and it works so well. It is hidden away, right in the middle of the living room, and hardly every smells.http://mambinki.blogspot.com/2.....binet.html

I have a roll and dump litter box from PetSmart. My biggest cat was afraid of the automatic Litter Maid (now used by my brother’s cat)so any kind of automatic litter box probably wouldn’t work for me. The roll and dump is BY FAR the easiest litter box I’ve ever had (I have five cats). I roll and dump the drawer twice a day and for over a year now, my cats and I have been very happy. I didn’t spend $300 either! Also, don’t need electricity or batteries to operate it.

I considered buying an automated litter box, but I couldn’t justify the expense and added electricity – especially when there was no guarantee the cat would like it.

I went the “roll and dump” route with flushable*, scoopable litter and it’s absolutely terrific. The litter is “green” and therefore horrendously expensive, but in the first month I’ve used only about half a bag.

It gets cleaned once a day at least; takes less than 5 minutes.

(Note: Yes, I know about cat poo and the ocean, but I am hundreds and hundreds of miles from any port.)

I wouldn’t call the Litter Robot any more of a unitasker than any other litterbox (ours definitely has one, dedicated purpose!) – but I do consider it a very expensive solution to a simple problem, and the additional energy use annoyed me.

Does anybody have any input on the “Cat Genie”?? I am so tired of the smelly cat box and litter. I spent $200+ for an automatic cleaning litter box 2 months ago and it’s already broken. I only have 2 cats…any input would be greatly appreciated :)…Thanks!

I’ve considered the automated litter boxes, but I’ve never been able to justify the expense. Our cats need a very deep box or they fling litter all over the place. We just use a Sterlite storage bin minus the lid. It’s deep enough that the cats don’t fling litter (and deep enough to keep the dogs from trolling for what we refer to as ‘granola bars’), easy to clean, and cost about $6. We use clumping litter, and scoop out the clumps at least every other day. Works just dandy for our three cats.

The accessories are a welcome addition. I have to tape a barrier across the lower half because one of my cats doesn’t always get in. The accessories will take care of that for me. For those of you who question a $300 cat box, I saved that much in two years in litter. (Have 3 cats.) It also prevents dog snacking, if you know what I mean. I do wish it were easier to clean, though.

Leanne: “I am so tired of the smelly cat box and litter.” Smelly cat box? Sounds like you haven’t tried World’s Best Cat Litter. I remember that smell, from the old days of sorbolite (clay) litter. I use World’s Best in a dishpan. When I empty it, I rake it smooth (like Japanese rock gardening), so I can tell at a glance when he has been in it. It’s so easy to scoop out the urine clump or feces. The box *never* smells. I empty it and wash it when I finish a bag of the litter—about once a month. It’s painless.

My cat’s litter box is immaculate, because when he pees or poops, he comes over and complains, “Clean my box.” People who let the box go must have more-laidback cats.